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Checklist to prepare your pet

When checking in your pet at the airport, we will use a checklist to make sure that your pet is fit to fly. Please read this checklist carefully.

Travel arrangements

Be sure to arrange vaccinations, travel documents and other important matters well in advance. Contact the local embassy of your destination country for precise requirements. Remember that some countries have strict quarantine regulations.

Secure a label to the side of the kennel stating the animal’s name and feeding instructions.

Allow five days for your pet to get used to its kennel before the flight.

Do not allow your pet to drink for 2 hours before departure.

Do not feed your pet for 2 hours before departure.

We strongly advise you not to tranquillize your pet. It will take longer to get accustomed to its new surroundings and its temperature may drop during the flight.

Below is our Pet Checklist, which must be completed by a KLM agent at check-in. Please make sure you can meet all its requirements.

KLM Pet Checklist

Your cat or dog may travel as check-in baggage in a ventilated part of the aircraft:

In a kennel that complies with IATA rules – for example those of the 'Sky' and 'Vari' brands. See below for precise rules for your pet’s kennel.

Total weight of your pet and kennel combined may be max. 75 kg (165 lbs).

Two adult animals of comparable size that are compatible, up to 14 kg (30 lbs) each. Or three animals up to six months old from the same litter, up to 14 kg (30 lbs) each.

On all KLM flights (and on KLM Cityhopper flights of less than 2 hours). Between 1 November and 31 March each year, pets cannot be taken in the hold of Fokker aircraft because it cannot be heated.

We accept a maximum of three pets per passenger as check-in baggage. Above that limit, pets must be shipped as cargo.

Always make a reservation for your pet by telephone. We strongly advise you to do so at the latest within 24 hours after you have booked your ticket, but at least 48 hours before departure. Please note that each passenger may bring up to 3 pets but that we have room for a limited number of kennels in the hold.

Snub-nosed animals such as pugs, boxers, bulldogs, Pekinese and Persian cats can have trouble breathing during the flight due to high temperatures and stress. To ensure their well-being, most snub-nosed animals may therefore only be transported in the cabin or as cargo. Unfortunately, we do also not transport English and French bulldogs, Boston terriers and pugs in the hold or as cargo.